Dreamworld 'training rushed, new workers are unsupervised'
A former Dreamworld employee has made explosive claims about the safety culture at the park in an exclusive interview with 7 News.
The ex-ride attendant says training is rushed and new staff are not supervised.
7 News has blurred the man’s face and changed his name to protect his identity as he finally opened up about something he has held onto for years.
“The reason I’m speaking out is because this accident was avoidable,” the man identified as Michael said.
“It should not have happened.”
Michael claimed the training ride attendants receive is not sufficient.
“You were pretty much given about half an hour’s worth of training before the park opened and then the ride trainer would stay with you for about 15 to 20 minutes after that, and then they would go about their day,” he said.
Of the ride at the centre of Tuesday’s tragedy, Michael had this to say: “I do know of one person who did work there who did raise concerns about the conveyor system on the Thunder River ride, because it did have those gaps between the slats”.
Dreamworld says the claim is untrue and Thunder River Rapids operators must be among the most experienced of staff.
Others are now going public with their stories.
“There’s just no safety there, it’s just scary,” Greg Bates said.
“I don’t ever want to go back there again.
“My friend beside me turned around and he actually held onto the harness because he actually saw it move.
"I said something to someone there and they said, “It’s OK. You didn’t actually fall out”.”
Ride inspector Ken Martin has investigated at least six incidents involving water rafts in the US.
“Here in the US, because of the incidents we’ve had, we’ve had to station attendants along he course and they have to have access to an emergency stop button where they can hit that stop button if something goes wrong,” he said.
Theme parks overseas have been paying close attention to the events at Dreamworld.
Some with similar water rides are even going to extraordinary measures to safeguard against further tragedy.
The Busch Gardens theme park in Florida closed its river rapids ride for a short period while investigations continue on the Gold Coast.
As the claims of safety concerns mount, the CEO of Dreamworld’s parent company Ardent Leisure has spent much of Thursday fending off questions about the company’s efforts to reach out to victim’s families.
Deborah Thomas also faced criticism about a board decision to award her a $167,000 cash performance bonus just days after Kate Goodchild, 32, Luke Dorsett, 35, Roozi Araghi, 38, and Cindy Low, 42, died.
Late on Thursday, she announced the bonus would be donated to charity.
"I have been deeply affected and saddened by the tragic deaths of Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett, Roozbeh Araghi, and Cindy Low at Dreamworld on Tuesday, in particular the impact of this incident on their children and families," Ms Thomas said in a statement.
"I will be making a personal donation of $167,500, which comprises my entire cash bonus, to the Australian Red Cross via the Dreamworld memorial day event.”
